Cyberography

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Monday, August 27, 2007

With the iPhone hack, it is now possible to get a revolutionary Internet device, that is ATT SIM free works on any GSM network. You can always just opt out of the cell phone service, and use it as a revolutionary Internet device through the phone's wi-fi capabilities.

Come to think of it, you don't even need the cell phone since the phone comes wi-fi equipped. Using VO.I.P., one could have a revolutionary Internet phone device available for use.

The recent forest fires in Greece are good examples of how cyberspace can be misused for terrorism. Apparently, many of the arsonists bombs were detonated via cell phone. This might allow for more evidence, however, given the bungling of the Vodafone incident, it is doubtful that the Greeks will be able to use the evidence that could be available. Hopefully, Vodafone wil not erase its logs before any investigation.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

The Athens affair is likely to become a textbook case of how a cyber-crime investigation get mishandled.

Briefly, the case is as follows.

During the 2004 Olympics in Athens, security services used the legal phone tapping system installed in Vodafone's cellular network in order to gather intelligence on potential terrorist attacks. However, after the Olympics, someone (most likely the National Security Agency) used sophisticated spyware that was nearly stealth, in order to tap into the highest echelons of the Hellenic government. These conversations were sent to particular cell phones in the Athens area.

Eventually, the tap was discovered; however, Vodaphone bungled the investigation by erasing data logs and other important evidence which could have been used to track down the perpetrators. The only evidence that is available is the triangulation of the spy-phones, all of which were in the vicinity of the U.S. Embassy there.

The lack of either a cyber-forensics squad, or know how of how to conduct a cyber-crime investigation on the part of the Hellenic police is indicative of an important problem in tackling the issue of cyber-crime not only in Hellas, but in all countries.

Without technical know-how of a dedicated corps of officers, it will be impossible for even developed countries to assure prosecution of cyber-crime.

The solution: I propose an international task force that trains and maintains a liaison with police departments. It would be best to do so under the auspices of INTERPOL. The authors of the article would agree.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

"Telepresence has created a new paradigm in visual communications notonly in Asia-Pacific, but globally," notes Frost & Sullivan industryanalyst Yen Yen Har. "The solutions available today are capable of delivering full-size,real life images in a fully interactive environment with the use ofadvanced real-time audio, video and data technologies, giving users indifferent geographies the experience of being in the same physicallocation," adds Har. Seen as the closest alternative to physical meetings, telepresence hasbecome a powerful productivity tool and is expected to find wideracceptance amongst MNCs (multinationals) and large corporations.

The Matrix presents a version of an old philosophical fable: the brain in a vat. A disembodied brain is floating in a vat, inside a scientist's laboratory. The scientist has arranged that the brain will be stimulated with the same sort of inputs that a normal embodied brain receives. To do this, the brain is connected to a giant computer simulation of a world. The simulation determines which inputs the brain receives. When the brain produces outputs, these are fed back into the simulation. The internal state of the brain is just like that of a normal brain, despite the fact that it lacks a body. From the brain's point of view, things seem very much as they seem to you and me.

The brain is massively deluded, it seems. It has all sorts of false beliefs about the world. It believes that it has a body, but it has no body. It believes that it is walking outside in the sunlight, but in fact it is inside a dark lab. It believes it is one place, when in fact it may be somewhere quite different. Perhaps it thinks it is in Tucson, when it is actually in Australia, or even in outer space.

The whole article is a must read for all those interested in the philosophical problems surrounding the merging of humans and machines.

This envatment hypothesis is the continuation of Socrates' Allegory of the Cave. I guess humans just don't trust their senses. Today, our ideas of the merging of humans with computers and machines are posing new problems, which Chalmer's deals with in his article.

Monday, August 13, 2007

THE official website of the United Nations appeared to have been hacked last night and briefly displayed a message protesting US and Israeli policies in the Middle East"The chief architects of this protest are myself, Eno 7 from Turkey, and the byond hackers team from Chile ... We expanded our efforts as nine other countries joined us afterwards," it said.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Many national governments have a set of laws governing cyberspace. The problem with these laws is that they are domestic and not-binding on other countries. Therefore, what is needed is an international law that harmonizes domestic laws, and sets up an international CERT.

This article is a case in point for why international negotiations have to take place in order to secure cyberspace.

It has been suggested that more cybersecurity laws here will help with computer security. Thompson and I agreed on a view about that. It's a waste of time to pass laws in the US that can't or won't be enforced in Russia or China.

Of course, there can be economic carrot and sticks associated with a country abiding by U.S. cyber-law. That is, if you obey the U.S. cyber-law then you will have access to advanced technology, if not, then you will be sanctioned. That is the black and white view at least.